Frankenstein vs. Jane Eyre

One important thing about both books is that they are both told by their respective main characters in the past tense. Both books contain Romantic elements, such as the bildungsroman or developmental story. But one reason I would pick Frankentstein over Jane Eyre is the events that unfold. Frankenstein questions the role of the parent in the development of a child, while Jane questions the social situations that a child grows up in. Also in Frankenstein the events are reasoned out in a way that is more believable. I can understand why Victor wouldn't divulge his secret to life to prevent his abomination fro being reproduced. Even though I realize that Mary Shelley doesn't know the secret to life. But the coincidence that occurs time and again in Jane Eyre "makes me roll my eyes and want to gag" I mean how does Rochester happen to have a crazy wife? The ending is what really tops it off for me though. Romanticism is focusing on the struggle of the individual, but she no longer has to struggle, she is content. St. John is the one who is not content and struggling, but we are given no finality, no closure. It is as if she is starting a new story after she ended the one before. Frankenstein gives you more sense of closure, but with no definity. the monster states he will go off and burn himself, but no one ever witnesses it. So my final judgement is Frankenstein conquers over Jane. Also Frankenstein would win in a fight hands down.

The Last line

Mr. Mullens point about the last line bugged me. The last line of Jane Eyre is "22:20 He who testifies these things says, "Yes, I come quickly." Amen! Yes, come, Lord Jesus." But the last line of Revelations is "22:21 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with all the saints. Amen." Why would St. John not leave off his letter blessing his cousins? Why did Charlotte Bronte finish her book with the second to last line of Revelations? Some reasons may be that the second to last line leaves more room for extension. The last line of revelations finalizes a book, but Charlotte Bronte may have wanted to leave the reader thinking about the fate of St. John and whether he really died or not. For every place Jane visits throughout the book, there is some type of closure, whether it is going back to see her ailing aunt and cousins, to the school getting a new headmaster and improving, Thornfield Hall burning to the ground and ultimately the joining of Jane and Mr. Rochester. This characteristic of the book would be left out if the fate of St. John, a major character was left out. Although this doesn't answer the question of why the second to last line of revelations is there, it helps to understand why St. John would get the last word at all.

Why is Jane a governess?

If in fact Jane never learned how to love properly then why is she a governess? Could she be trying to find out how other children learn how to love, is love not required when teaching younger children? Her job is to teach Adele, but you find her more often with Rochester. I guess governess is just a good fit for Jane because she is around higher class people, but can do nothing about her own station.

Supernatural entities

One theme that I wold like to look closely at is the use of supernatural beings in both Jane Eyre and the Ancient Mariner. In Jane Eyre God is held in reverence and everything that Jane does is in accordance with what the Bible and the reflection of her prayers tell her. Even dreams are a form of communication for Jane, acting like guides when decisions arise before her. Jane Eyre's paranoia of the noises she hears in the red room and later coming from Bertha Mason in the third floor adds a different twist of supernatural beings that creates suspense for the reader. In the Ancient Mariners case, it is the albatross in which god holds his influence. After he shoots down the albatross, he must repent for his sins. He is punished through nature, with the winds stopping and the sun slowly killing his crew mates. The whole poem has religious overtones in it, with the crew rising from the dead to help him and the Hermit listening to his penance. The most interesting supernatural beings would be the two that talk about the fate of the Ancient Mariner, just because they break away from the theme of nature.

Jane Eyre

What I found most interesting about Jane Eyre so far was her Romantic Parents and their history. Her mother being rich and wealthy and her father being a low clergyman and their marrying each other even though here mother would be written out of the Will. Nothing fits our definition of Romanticism better than their union. You can see the same connection between Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester. When they first meet Jane Eyre unknowingly helps Mr. Rochester when he falls off his horse and sprains his ankle. The relationship between these two different class of people is something that is relatively new during the Eighteenth Century. But I have one problem, is this story bordering on being more Romantic in some aspects? Does the plight of Jane Eyre make the reader to sympathetic to realize these relationships wouldn't normally exist?